Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1887-10-06
Rum AND GuNPewBER IN THE
HOLD.
By FRANK H. CONVERSE.

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The worst v'y'ge ever made? You're
asking me hard one, my lad. For
there's different degrees of hard voy-
aging, so to speak.
FIR instance, sailor ships in one of
these wild packets where the cap'n is q
bully and his officers a couple of shades
worse. From dock to dock it's O word
and blow, with the blow two minutes
before the word. If you get ashore
with skin full of whole bones you
haven't had as hard a v'y'ge as some
others that goes to the hospital with
smashed jaws or broken limbs.
Or mebbe, fool-like, you get inveigled
aboard deep-water whaler, though 1
toilI say no reg'lar A b in his sober
senses gets caught that way often.
Two and perhaps three years you're
cruising after sperm, and finally get
into port with part of cargo of oil,
your share not being enough TO pay
your outfit bill. That's hard v'y'ge
And so it goes, which, if the dog
watch wasn't nigh half spent, I might
keep illustrating of. But L mind one
particler v'y'ge thst was hard enough
for me. It was this way
Being American born and bred, I've
mostly sailed under my flag as q matter
of principle, dye seer American
sailors being scarce at best, and our
ships fo'c'sles full of dirty foreigners
for nigh twenty years past, growing
worse all the time.
1 did make cruise in Chinee Junk
in '65, but that was entire accident, as
some night I'll tell You about. But in
~ / got stranded in London with
wages to the States two-pound-ten, and
three-pound-five offered foreign. So it
came about shipped in the brig Clara
Desmond bound for the west coat of
| Africa.
knew tolerable we'll what part of
the cargo was like to be, but L was a
little took aback when come to get
fairly aboard see there was a young
ish and an older gent which the steward
said was missionaries, goin' out to n
mission on the Gaboon River.
"The same old story; rum, gun
| powder, and missionaries. I'd rather it
were you than me was goin', for you're
sure to come to grief somehow" says an
old shipmate who came down to see
me off.
But the missionaries wasn't to blame
for the cargo, was they? In point OF
fact, as 1 found out after, they didn't
know what the cargo was, passage hav-
ing been engaged for 'em by other par
ties. But there's a certain class OF
folks always sneering at religion that
likes to represent such things in the
worst kind of light.
1t was in the middle of March, the
toughest time in the year on the
English coast, in my way of thinking.
We had fairish wind through the
Straits of Dover, and then it chopped
round dead with half a gale blowing,
and that thick you couldn't see the
briggs length half the time.
There was eight of us before the
mast, she being lump of brig, foI
English owners are more particular
not to have their vessels sail short.
handed, as we'll they may, considering
the starvation wages. -Four were
Roosians or Roosian Firms, two Irish
and one-the one which begun trouble
hailed from Australia under the name
of Boxer, which wasn't his right namC
any more than mine is Harry Hale.
There's some of us fellows in the fore
cas'le that amt willing to carry a re-
spectacle family name along with us
Boxer had been paid off from deep
waterman and blowed in something
like fifty pounds inside of three weeks
So when he come aboard he was tina
shaky Cap'n Gore wouldn't send hin
aloft; besides, he was on the ragged
edge of delirium tremens! Why, tall
about selling ones soul for drink, aftel
he'd been aboard six hours Boxer woulC
have sold his and all his relations t.
boot for q glass of liquor. Temperate,
lectures with illustrations! A vesselt
fo'c'sle is where you'll hear and Sc,
'em, and they amt stereopticon views
either
From the time Boxer found out ther,
was rum in the hold, think he grew
crazier. He begged like dog fo
Capn Gore to give him the least drop
but the old man was solid against it
and dosed Boxer with valer an anC
such. Boxer kept his bunk, and it wa
all hands on deck the biggest part o
the time, so we never mistrusted wha
he was up to.
First I took much notice of either o
the passengers was when we was thre'
days out beating down channel unde
reefs, somewheres midway betwix
Cape La Hague on the French coas
and Prawle Point off Devon. The old
est of the two, Mr.. King, was sick, o
course, but this younger one, a MI
Venn, didn't seem to have an idea o
such thing.
He was slim, palish sort of chap
but come TO look close at him, no
ticed he had considerable muscle AM
sinew under his white skin. And whel
all to once he sprung and grabbed hol
Of the topsl halyards above the res
of our hands, and surged down on
with q regular sailor "sing out" I'm
fine fellow" I says 10 myself. "you
fingers has been in q tarpot, or / los
my guess"
Being one hand short, Cap'n Gore
though he opened his eyes tolerabl
wide, made no manner OF objection I
the passenger taking holt for pul
4 1 L. l.LoI AnI .nos,.~ klxss